The Polyamory Foundation
It's Polyamory Week, which is a great time to talk about a new resource available to creatives, organizers, and educators in our polyam community: The Polyamory Foundation.
“Have you nurtured an idea for advancing polyamory awareness and community but lacked the funds to carry it out? Have your plans to put on a conference been thwarted by the large deposit that hotels require upfront? Have you been running a poly conference but it took a bad hit from Covid cancellations, and you don't know where the money will come from to get it back on its feet? Do you want to offer scholarships for more low-income people to attend your non-profit poly event, but you can't afford to? Do you have great material to present but need a bit of help to finance a tour? Need a piece of equipment for a poly-community project? Talk to us. Whether your idea is large or small, if you have developed a plan but are stymied by lack of funds, that's what The Polyamory Foundation is here for.”
After years of work behind the scenes and donations from early benefactors to start it with a reasonable amount of money to give between 10 and 20 grants ranging from as low as $100 to $4000 in the next year, the Polyamory Foundation is now operating. The IRS has given them nonprofit status as a grant making organization, and their mission is to advance awareness, understanding, and education around polyamory.
The polyamorous community is full of individuals with great information and ideas, and sometimes, a little money to print materials, travel to give a presentation, or cover the costs associated with making an event accessible can be the difference between getting an idea off the ground or not. The Statement of Purpose from their website states,
“The Polyamory Foundation will provide grants to, and may otherwise aid, projects and/or organizations that advance awareness and understanding of egalitarian, ethical polyamory as a valid and workable relationship choice; or that inform the public of polyamory’s principles and best practices; or that support the needs and interests of the polyamory community (persons engaging in or identifying with egalitarian, ethical polyamory). For purposes of the Foundation, "polyamory" will be defined as multiple intimate loving relationships carried out with the full knowledge and consent of all persons affected.” In the general spirit of inclusion and equity, they give added weight to applications from folks from historically oppressed communities when determining which applications they will grant.
Additionally, if as a member of the community you want to support ongoing educational endeavors, they have an option to donate and be part of building up the pot for future years’ grants. All donations are tax deductible in the United States. You can find more information on their website.
So, if you’ve got a big idea regarding polyam awareness and understanding that has a logistical barrier a grant could help you overcome, visit polyamoryfoundation.org and apply. I’m not professionally associated with this foundation, but I think it’s a wonderful resource newly available to our community, and I so look forward to seeing what people make of the grants given this year and in the future.
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The Canadian Polyamory Advocacy Association reminded me that it's Polyamory Week! To play catch-up for yesterday, I shared that evergreen post, Compersion is Not Mandatory, across my social media, and you're here today. More new content every day this week, and follow on Tiktok, Twitter, and Instagram for more. The Relationship Anarchy Applied class is running in two weeks; find tickets here - it's a good one.
I've scheduled the Polyam and Parenting class for April 23 at 3pm-5pm Eastern (Noon to 2 Pacific); your purchase comes with a recording of the class and admission to a second q&a session on April 30 at 11:30 pm ET (8:30 PT) to try to accomodate as many schedules as possible. Tickets are here.